351 N Fairfax Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90036
USA
This September – December, modern American eatery Plan Check Kitchen + Bar (Sawtelle, Fairfax*, Downtown*, and soon-to-open Santa Monica*) launches Comfort Masters, a lineup of exclusive pop-up dining events created by owner/founder Terry Heller and longtime travel and food tastemaker Andy Wang in collaboration with mobile app and web-based dining guide, Table8. From elegant dining to casual street eats, the Comfort Masters series will feature meals by acclaimed chefs, up-and-comers, those without brick and mortar and some who’ve never cooked in Los Angeles. The limited-run events will be a unique showcase of new concepts and a celebration of indie culture.
*Dinners will be held throughout the following Plan Check locations; refer to ticketing link for details
**Ticketing price includes tax and gratuity; Table8 Dining Club members receive a complimentary cocktail
“This series is really a celebration of some of the country’s most spectacular chefs, many of whom have never cooked in Los Angeles before,” says Heller. “It’s about boundary-breaking chefs with serious talent, multicultural influences and bold flavors who dominate their respective cities by making the kind of food you crave again and again. What’s fantastic about this series is that every dinner is totally different. Each event will be approachable and fairly priced, allowing the chefs to infuse their own point of view and a story that’s as captivating as what is on the plate.”
“I love that we have a guy who worked for Joel Robuchon, then oversaw a huge Vegas brasserie kitchen and is now making Hainan chicken worthy of hawker stands in Asia and that a Korean-American chef in the Midwest who’s won a James Beard Award for his French-inspired contemporary American restaurant also runs a gastropub and places that serve Asian and Spanish food,” adds Wang. “There’s a French couple who decided to serve foie gras along with croque monsieurs from their food truck just because. There’s a guy in Texas who’s known for both Italian food and a BBQ market, and a Paleo Chef who understands that the deep cuts of meat are the best ones if you just give them the time and attention they need. I love that the former executive chef of both Campanile and Patina now serves Maine lobster rolls in South Beach and cooks at both Coachella and Desert Trip. Forget white tablecloths, this is punk rock. This is food in America in 2016 and it’s glorious.”
The guest chef lineup includes the following (more chefs to be announced in the coming weeks):
Chris Anderson | September 6th & 7th
Michelin-starred chef, Chris Anderson, kicks off the dinner series by lending a high-tech touch to the menu, a talent he obtained while working at Moto, Alinea, and L2O—three powerhouses of Chicago’s molecular gastronomy scene. Presently, Anderson spearheads the dynamic al fresco experience at SO•PA in the L’Horizon Palm Springs Hotel, where he blends re-conceptualized technique with seasonal ingredients to offer compelling plates and aromatics, such as “carrot air” and “miner lettuce foam.”
Jamie DeRosa | September 13th & 14th
Miami’s Jamie DeRosa will give L.A. a taste of Izzy’s Fish & Oyster. Before he was the chef/owner at Izzy’s Fish & Oyster in South Beach and rocked the festival world with his cooking at both Coachella and Desert Trip, Jamie DeRosa was an L.A. force as the executive chef of both Campanile and Patina. DeRosa was also part of the Wolfgang Puck restaurant empire, where his cooking credits included Spago in both Beverly Hills and Las Vegas.
The Paleo Chef | September 18th
The highly sought-out private chef to A-listers across the nation, Mary Shenouda, The Paleo Chef, will be cooking up a paleo feast featuring nutrient-dense and flavor-packed dishes. Mary brings us some of her most nostalgic childhood-inspired, (Egyptian) soul-food dishes, with a twist. All of these are prepared grain-, casein-, and soy-free.
Monsieur Madame | September 21st
Jeremie and Nissa Banet take their food truck brick-and-mortar for a night of French sandwiches and foie gras. Expect croque monsieur bites, merguez, a tagine, foie gras and some surprises.
Sheridan Su | October 9th
The Hainan chicken at chef/founder Sheridan Su’s Flock & Fowl in Las Vegas was named Best Signature Dish by Desert Companion. Flock & Fowl, which celebrates all things chicken, was also honored as Best House of Fowl by Las Vegas Weekly. Su, also the chef/founder at Fat Choy, previously cooked at Joel Robuchon at the Mansion and was the executive chef of Comme Ca in Las Vegas.
Jason Dady | October 25th & 26th
San Antonio’s No. 1 chef gives L.A. a taste of Texas. James Beard Award semifinalist Jason Dady’s restaurants include Tre Trattoria, Tre Enoteca, Two Bros BBQ Market, B&D Ice House and Shuck Shack.
Golden Boys Chinese | November 1st & 2nd
After selling out pop-ups Downtown and in Culver City, chefs Hunter Pritchett and Adam Midkiff bring their moveable guerrilla Chinese restaurant to Plan Check Fairfax. The chefs take their experiences dining in the red-lacquer and jade palaces of the East Coast, the humid and rowdy shophouses of Southeast Asia, and the humble San Gabriel Valley mom-and-pop restaurants — and filter it through the farmer’s market produce and mindfulness of Southern California.
Richard Hales | November 15th & 16th
Richard Hales, the man behind Miami’s Blackbrick and Sakaya Kitchen, goes big with his bold Asian flavors. Hales’ Blackbrick was honored as a 2014 bon appétit Best New Restaurant and as Miami New Times’ Best Chinese Restaurant. Sakaya Kitchen, with its Asian funk fusion, was named as one of the Top 6 Places to Taste the New Asian Fusion by bon appétit and an Eater 38 essential Miami restaurant.
Mike Randolph | December 4th & 5th
Mike Randolph gives L.A. a taste of Público, his St. Louis restaurant that earned two James Beard Award semifinalist nods this year. Randolph also runs breakfast/lunch restaurant Half & Half, wildly popular with two-plus-hour waits on the weekend. His other restaurant, Randolfi’s, was just named “Best Italian” in St. Louis by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Tory Miller | December 7th
James Beard Award winner Tory Miller shows L.A. what his Madison, Wisconsin empire is all about. 2012 James Beard Award winner for Best Chef: Midwest, Miller has four restaurants in Madison, WI, including L’Etoile (Wine Spectator Top 100 three times), Graze (2014 Best Restaurant, Madison magazine), Sujeo and Estrellon.
